November 2023. Oldham. Well, Greater Oldham, really, on a day that turned into a bit of a nightmare. It started with the usual great cut from Matthew at Helvete’s new salon in Chinatown, before a nice, easy tick out in Hollinwood. A metro trip out of St Peters, where Cinderella had left her shoe in… Continue reading FROM NIMBLE NOOK TO THE EDGE
Author: retiredmartin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
SURVEYING SPONDON
November 2023. Spondon. Derby. The night was still young, but at 4.30pm I’d already ticked the two Derby Guide pubs I needed, which is like getting the two Iranian full backs in your Panini World Cup 1978 sticker pack. Just a Snooker Club in New Mills to finish the county, and I refuse to believe… Continue reading SURVEYING SPONDON
HOPTIMISM IN SPLENDID SPONDON
November 2023. Spondon. Derby. Spondon ? Me neither, before a trip to the lovably Old Skool Malt Shovel in 2021. There’s an A52 bus, but I managed to catch a train with only slightly better hours than the one to Brigg. The sun shines on the righteous, but not today as I enjoyed a soggy… Continue reading HOPTIMISM IN SPLENDID SPONDON
WAITING FOR THE BASS BARREL TO BE CHANGED IN WILLINGTON
November 2023. Willington. Derby. I like the fact the newbie Guide entries are so unpredictable; just like the Spanish Inquisition no-one (except Life After Football) would have predicted the Dragon in Willington. LAF even suggested a week’s holiday in your first stop south of Derby, but a night in a campervan in the station car… Continue reading WAITING FOR THE BASS BARREL TO BE CHANGED IN WILLINGTON
EAST OF COALVILLE
November 2023. Rothley. Leicestershire. The word “Coalville” is clickbait. Sorry. You were expecting to see an unwoke boozer craft beer bar on the A511; instead you get a dining pub just off the A46. Technically, Rothley is not far east of Coalville, but it might as well be in a different continent. I’ve grown to… Continue reading EAST OF COALVILLE
EVERARDS TAP – IT’S…..OK
November 2023. Enderby. Leicester. After that great pint of Tiger it was inevitable the GBG would next take me to the very home of Everards, whose giant Beer Hall graces the great nothingness below iconic Leicester Forest East Services. I’m not, at present, able to offer a self guided tour between the service station and… Continue reading EVERARDS TAP – IT’S…..OK
BLABY’S TIGER ROARS
November 2023. Blaby. Leicestershire. A couple of days spent in the east Midlands, doing what tickers call “mopping” up the new Leicestershire GBG entries, which this year fail to include anything in the county town. Sadly, no return visit to the Ale Wagon, then. And Leicester’s necklace (?) of commuter towns haven’t been that exciting… Continue reading BLABY’S TIGER ROARS
PINTS UNDER A POUND IN KETTERING
November 2023. Kettering. Yes, November. I thought I’d never get there. Two years ago, that 2021/22 of GBG completion, I never actually went to a single pub in Northamptonshire, as Covid meant (in common with Ely) no surveys for new GBG pubs. But last year our most underrated county bounced back, and GBG24 sees an… Continue reading PINTS UNDER A POUND IN KETTERING
PUBS ARE LIFE
October 2023 (still, sorry). Hillsborough, Sheffield. Monday morning. I had to go to Morrison’s, can’t remember why. Oh yes, to exchange a tin of decaffeinated coffee I’d bought by accident. Have you ever tried decaffeinated coffee ? Some Japanese visitors were taking photos of the trees, so I did the same. Ain’t Autumn Awesome ?… Continue reading PUBS ARE LIFE
“See ya, me duck”. You “B” winning in Hilcote.
October 2023. Hilcote. Derbyshire. If you didn’t use the Good Beer Guide you’d never end up in weird places like Holbeach, and Rainham, and Paisley. And your life would be immeasurably less fulfilling with a life spent attending beer festivals and drinking cans of murk in your underpants. The GBG introduced me to the joys… Continue reading “See ya, me duck”. You “B” winning in Hilcote.
retiredmartin 